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The Battalion
Page 7 • Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Human genome mapped
Breakthrough marks beginning of new era in medicine
By Paul Recer
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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. , Bo an accuracy or 99.99 percent, a scientific
om anger to elaii* ,. . , j ■ -ui u »
, • .. • , achievement once deemed impossible but
, oice is pen upm l ow considered the foundation for a new era
i that it often daw U mec ji ca ] advances, an international
\ and chaos. Bass gsearch tearn sa i c i Monday.
Ben Jeffries lays With the entire sequence in hand and
lid rhythm sectiot ivailable to scientists worldwide, experts
Jibe is showc& iredicted it would lead to new drugs, better
'erful, driving op; orecasts of people’s health and new ways to
ower melodic to real or prevent many of the most devastat-
The first sin; ng human illnesses.
; optimistic thems A joint statement from the leaders of the
is a perfect exair; dx nations, including President Bush, said
Jibe has put into g enet * c ma P “provides us with the fun-
1994 lamental platform for understanding our-
does a phene*. 6®" wh ' ch re '' olu , ticma >> P 10 *?? 8
| vill be made in biomedical sciences and in
ig>, \\ ic norm, ^ health and welfare of humankind.”
its amazing ivept gj^yp a i on g with a competing pri-
now under itsM , a t e e ff or t t completed a rough draft of the
ire - ;enome in 2000, but that draft included
housands of gaps in the long sequence of
—Juan Rbt )NA base pairs. Now all but 400 of those
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|aps have been closed.
“After three billion years of evolution ...
Ive have before us the instructions set that
larries each of us from a one-celled egg
Through adulthood to the grave,” said Dr.
:k history was oil Robert Waterston of the International
mt induction to4 r uman Genome Sequencing Consortium,
but it has longte P' s wr ‘ tten ' n an arcane language and
band should beJ [ ncom P asses a complexity that we just
ificant today, ii
gainst the Macta
The Offspring ar
eginning to understand.’
The genome is composed of about
hree billion pairs of DNA chemicals
within 24 chromosomes. The genes that
aontrol the body’s development, growth,
compilations ne« functions and
aging are made of specific
,'pe, I he Essentu se q Ue nces of these chemical pairs. A small
)-disc collection! change in these sequences can be enough
i. In an unfoitunaf to cause disease,
are a dying btee By identifying the correct and healthy
and,” with its
I remain promts
lassies as “Lonh
’ and “Should IS
etion is vital to a
s music lacks s
sequence of base pairs, researchers hope to
find the disease-causing genetic flaws that
could yield to treatment.
Scientists are still uncertain how many
genes’ there are in the genome, but most
believe it is about 30,000. This number is
expected to be refined with more research.
Hundreds of scientists in the consortium,
representing 18 organizations in six coun
tries, started the sequencing work in 1990.
American agencies and universities, led
by the National Human Genome Research
Institute and the Department of Energy,
completed the project at a cost of about $2.7
billion, some $300 million less and two
years earlier than the original estimate. The
United States did about half of the DNA
sequencing, and some of the money budget
ed for the human project was spent on
sequencing other organisms, such as the
mouse, and on associated technologies.
Celeria Genomics, a private company led
by Craig Venter, raced the international
effort to produce a parallel rough draft of the
genome. Completion of the competing
efforts was announced at a joint news con
ference at the White House in June 2000.
But Dr. Francis Collins, director of the
NHGR, said that Celeria did not go on to
refine the rough draft, leaving the consor
tium with the only essentially complete
sequence. Venter now does work for the
Department of Energy.
Announcement of the completed
sequence comes just days before the 50th
anniversary of the discovery of the double
helix structure of DNA by James Watson,
an American, and Francis Crick, a British
biophysicist. They shared the Nobel Prize
for the work.
Watson, who was the first director of the
American sequencing effort, said at
Monday’s news conference that his decision
to devote three percent of the genome
research effort to studying the ethical conse
quences of the gene sequencing may have
been “the wisest decision that I made.”
He said there were concerns that if the
A cell’s
nucleus
contains 22
pairs of
chromosomes,
plus one which
determines ■
gender. ^
Understanding genes
may cure disease
The Human Genome Project
announced it has sequenced the
human genetic structure, which
includes about 35,000 genes. Many
diseases are caused by genetic
flaws. By sequencing the genes, ,
scientists hope to understand how
changes in DNA cause disease, an
important step in developing cures.
For example, a flawed
gene can stop a
pancreatic cell from
making insulin, an
Importam protein.
By understanding
how that gene
works, it might be
possible to make a
drug that corrects
the flaw, allowing
the cell to produce
insulin.
Feds continue
lie detector use
despite study
A gerve is a
DNA sequence
that alters a
cell’s function
SOURCE. National Human Ganoma Research Institute AP
research identified people with a genetic
predisposition for disease it could lead to
discrimination in employment and in other
elements of life. Forty states have now
passed laws forbidding genetic discrimina
tion and federal laws have been proposed.
Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National
Human Genome Research Institute, said the
complete sequence of the genome is just the
beginning of the genetic revolution.
Researchers now will use the sequences to
try to speed identification of genes that
cause cancer, diabetes, heart disease and
other disorders and then to develop drugs
that either prevent or treat the disorders.
Some disorders might be treated by manipu
lating or replacing flawed genes, he said.
It eventually may be possible to provide
the unique genetic sequence for each patient
and then to tailor therapy or prevention care
for that specific person, the experts said.
This could relieve some of the side effects
caused by broad spectrum drugs.
By Pete Yost
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The
Energy Department decided
Monday to continue using lie
detector tests to protect the
nation’s nuclear arms stock
pile, despite a scientific study
that found severe shortcom
ings in the tests’ accuracy.
Energy Secretary Spencer
Abraham said the department
must use the best tools avail
able to protect sensitive infor
mation about the stockpile.
Critics said the department is
making a mistake by ignoring
recommendations of the study
of polygraph effectiveness
done six months ago at the
urging of Congress.
“Basically they’ve ignored
the evidence,” said Stephen
Fienberg of Carnegie Mellon
University, who chaired the
National Academy of
Sciences study.
A spokesman for Sen.
Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.,
said the Energy
Department’s response to
the National Academy of
Sciences is “a surprising
and disappointing result”
that is hard to understand.
Congress ordered the
Energy Department to heed,
and take the study’s findings
into account.
In a proposed rule, howev
er, the department says
retaining the program is well-
suited to. fulfilling national
security needs.
The scientific review
headed by Fienberg conclud
ed that federal agencies
should not rely on lie detec
tors to screen current work
ers and job applicants
because the machines are
simply too inaccurate.
The likelihood of ignoring
a spy because he passed a
polygraph test is so high that
relying on the tests probably
is a greater danger to nation
al security than discarding
them, Fienberg said in
response to the proposed new
Energy Department rule.
“It’s bureaucratic impu
dence,” said Steven
Aftergood of the Federation
of American Scientists.
“Energy said, ‘We’ll replace
the existing policy with pre
cisely the same policy.’”
In justifying keeping the
polygraph program as it is,
the Energy Department
pointed to language in the
Academy’s study about the
use of lie detectors as a trig
ger for a fairly detailed fol
low-up investigation.
Abraham said the poly
graph tests are not simply
used on a “stand-alone basis
but as part of a larger fabric
of investigative and analyti
cal reviews.”
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